cliff negotiations, deficit reduction. not hearing specifically about mortgage interest deduction but hearing about closing the loopholes. republicans say this is what's on the table from the white house. raising marginal tax rates on the very rich. extending both the social security payroll tax break and unemployment benefits for next year. the government wants to -- the white house wants to defer the sequester for a year and then launch this new multi-year stimulus package that would be at least $50 billion last year, infrastructure spending. also get this, a permanent increase in the debt limit, and they would take the debt ceiling approval away from congress. robert reich, do you have any problems with all of these things? >> well, most of them are steps in the right direction. i think that actually taking the debt ceiling approval away from congress sounds radical but it really isn't. that's a technicality. you don't want the debt ceiling ever to be negated. you are don't want congress to ever say no because that's th